TMJ: It Bites. Anyone else here have it?

[vivalostwages]

Not only does it bite, but I sure wish I could bite better than I have been lately.
It started for no reason that I know of on the 13th. Several days later, Dr. was on a long lunch break, so off I went to Urgent Care. Diagnosis: "Your right jaw joint is inflamed" [duh]; they gave me Medrol (prednisone) and told me to ice it.
The steroids did nothing and the ice made it worse. It hurt so freaking bad that it kept me up half the night several days later. I finally grew some brain cells and went to the dentist, who took an x-ray and showed me the culprit via the picture and the real human skull that he's so fond of displaying: a somewhat-closed-up space on the joint/capsule on the right side.
So for now, it's the conservative treatment: warm packs, Aleve (I can't take ibuprofen), and nothing too hard to chew. I'm gumming things down and it takes twice as long to eat as it did before. (Hey, maybe there's a weight loss secret in here somewhere....I'm trying to find something positive.) In the early morning when the Aleve is wearing off, it freaking hurts like a madman. I don't dare yawn widely or even laugh too hard, and coughing or sneezing is sheer agony. If it doesn't clear up by early December, I'm told I could be getting a splint.
It didn't quite seem strong enough for Pitting, though I still Pit the Shit out of It.
Share your experience--and please reassure me, if you can, that it won't be long-term.